


You’re Not Enough

by PrinxOfTheFlamingHeart



Category: The Two Princes (Podcast)
Genre: Angry Amir, Love Letters, M/M, Superstitions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25065370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinxOfTheFlamingHeart/pseuds/PrinxOfTheFlamingHeart
Summary: There are little things Rupert hears constantly enough that it brings him down. But when he’s at his lowest, Amir needs him the most. Amir is constantly called on by their people. The same people who don’t seem to appreciate both of their princes. It turns out that Amir has ears as well. Amir knows Rupert is more than enough, he’s everything to Amir.
Relationships: Prince Amir/Prince Rupert (Two Princes Podcast)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 152





	You’re Not Enough

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudCover](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudCover/gifts).



“Prince Rupert, is Prince Amir not with you?”

“Ah Prince Rupert, have you seen Prince Amir?”

“Ah perfect. Prince Amir! Oh, and, um, a pleasure as always, Prince Rupert.”

“I can wait until Prince Amir hears this! No need to trouble yourself with such a big decision!”

The words built up over time. But worse than those were the words he didn’t hear. Couldn’t they at least pretend to listen to him? To want to hear what he had to say? And not just when there was some celebration, either! 

Rupert always knew he was unprepared in most ways to rule. Amir tutored him, he took tons of books to bed with him, and he was out among the people every day since re-establishing the Heartland. 

He even spent an entire day working in a farmer’s field, a “stunt” harshly criticized by some of his nobles and upper class merchants. Even the farmer took some time to quit worrying over every little thing and teach him to work properly. 

When the words got to be their worst, Rupert would sit in his room in front of his mirror and read love letters from Amir. Both princes wrote them to each other. Rupert seemed to get a new one every week and he absolutely treasured them. He replied to every one and left several smaller notes for Amir to find in odd places. Bookmarked in his favorite books. Tucked into his breakfast napkin. Tied to his sparring helmet. 

‘Dearest Rupert,  
I love you more than words can describe. But the next time you leave a note tied to my armor can you please tie it to the front? I must have walked around the castle seven times before Joan yanked it off my back. I’m not embarrassed by your love, though. I would wear a sign with ‘Property of Prince Rupert’ on my butt all day if it would make you happy. I am embarrassed by being that oblivious, though. You know how focused I can be when I’m thinking. Please know that no matter how you think about yourself, my thoughts of you are always kind. You are my breath, my heatbeat, and my dreams. I’ll never be lonely with you.

Love,   
Amir’

Hastily wiping tears from his face and love letter, Rupert heard Amir enter his room next door. If the door slamming and faint curses were any indication, Amir wasn’t having a great time. A second loud bang was followed by a louder curse. 

Rupert stashed the letter with the hundred others in his bed chest and knocked on their shared door. There never was a lock on it, but both princes insisted on a little privacy. 

“Not right now, Rupert. I’m ... frustrated,” Amir said. 

“Okay, you let me know when we can talk about it,” Rupert said, resisting the urge to barge in and make Amir tell him what was wrong. If Amir was too worked up to even talk to him it must be bad. 

Rupert went back to his bed chest and retrieved another letter. Since he couldn’t do anything it helped his mind to refocus. 

‘Dearest Rupert,

I need to apologize to you. In case I don’t say it properly when I talk to you. I’m sorry I cut over what you were saying in the council meeting. I meant no disrespect to you, my prince. This doesn’t justify what I did, but if I may explain what I was feeling at the time? That councilwoman was rude. Rude to you in particular as she continued to use her time to ask questions that she claimed were hypothetical but were actually just attacks on Westerners. I should have left rebuking her to you as the more insulted of the two of us. I trust you. I trust that you would have said things you meant that were also true. And I trust that you wouldn’t have taken time to insult her in return like I did. You were right to call me out after it was over. I didn’t even realize how often you were interrupted and I promise you that I won’t allow that to continue. You are my prince as I am yours and we are together as equals in importance to this kingdom. Your experience might not be the same as mine but you are experienced in so many things I am not. Please forgive me for being so blind and deaf to your needs.   
Your humble prince,  
Amir’

A soft knock on their shared door made Rupert jump in surprise. He dropped the letter and went to check his face in the mirror again. 

“Rupert?” Amir asked softly.

“Yes, come in! Or I can come to your roo-“

As Amir entered, he closed their door behind them. “No, that’s fine. I’d rather be in here if that’s okay?”

Rupert opened his arms to his prince and smiled. “Of course it’s okay.” Amir walked into Rupert’s embrace. “Do you want to tell me what made you so mad?”

“Will you let me put my head in your lap?” Amir asked. 

Letting Amir go, Rupert sat on his bed and beckoned him over. On the way, Amir picked up the letter on the ground. 

“Oh! I dropped that. I’m usually so careful with those...”

“Oh. It’s my apology from last week. Yeah, actually this kind of relates to that...” Amir handed Rupert back the letter. 

Rupert took it and gently grabbed Amir’s hand, giving a small yet insistent tug on it to indicate Amir should join him. Amir settled down on his side, stretching out along the edge of the bed and resting his head in Rupert’s lap. Rupert let his fingers wander in Amir’s soft hair and they remained that way for a while. 

Finally Amir spoke. “My schedule has been insane. It seems like everybody in the kingdom wants my opinion.”

“Well, if I had a brick for every time that happened we’d have a much bigger castle,” Rupert said with a laugh, Amir didn’t join in. “I can see how that would be frustrating though.”

“Ever since last week, I’ve noticed it more and more. How often my opinion was sought out. How rarely I ever heard anyone ask about you. Or how you’d feel. Even when I brought up how you would be the one to ask, I literally had a merchant tell me my opinion was enough. And he was a Westerner!” Amir said, punctuating the sentence and the air with his fist.

Rupert sighed as he gently teased a tangle free from Amir’s hair. “My mother cultivated a very particular reputation. She threw the parties and celebrations to distract people from her sharp mind and her ability to let other people do their jobs. It’s not surprising that her reputation passed on to me.” 

“It’s not right.” Amir sat up, Rupert reluctantly let go of his hair. “People shouldn’t underestimate Lavinia. And they definitely shouldn’t underestimate you.”

“So what made you so mad then? Shouldn’t I be mad?” Rupert asked, laughing a little. 

“I guess you should,” Amir said, laughing in return. “So do you want to break something too?”

“Uh? Too? What did you break?” Rupert asked, alarmed. 

“Anyway,” Amir said, dodging the question, “It was Councilwoman Karen that really got me today. She asked me about a few changes to security for the upcoming ball.”

Rupert made a mental note to circle back to what was broken. “Ugh! That little pest. She did ask me about that. Said if I could persuade Joan to have her security detail blend in better. She heavily implied using more Western knights as part of ‘blending in.’”

“That’s what made me so mad. She told me she’d asked you but insisted your opinion wasn’t enough.” Amir stood up and paced. “That you were too inexperienced to appreciate what she meant but that you had agreed with her.”

Rupert nodded, very familiar with such sentiments. “What a total Karen move. Does she think we don’t talk to each other?”

Amir looked to the ceiling in frustration. “She must think we have some marriage of convenience and that we don’t speak to each other. I think it’s gotten around that we have separate rooms and all sorts of stupid rumors have tried to explain why.”

Rupert tapped his foot on the floor and hummed. “Even if we told them exactly why, they’d still come up with their own excuses. Well, if it lets people make stupid moves like that, at least we’ll see their true colors.”

Amir stopped pacing and looked Rupert in the eyes. “I want people to see how important you are to me. I want them to see you as a good prince. No, an excellent prince! Every bit as good as I am and more,” Amir said. 

Rupert stood up and held Amir’s face gently. “It’s enough to me that you see that. And that you want the best for me. We’ll start holding more meetings together than apart. I’ll learn more that way and whatever I don’t understand I’ll ask you about. I trust that you’ll help change how certain people see me. And if they don’t? We’ll see who our true allies are. Now if we’ve settled this, what did you break?”

Amir turned his eyes to the floor. “My dresser drawer. I slammed it too hard and the front snapped off. And I broke the mirror.”

“Well that’s unlucky.” Rupert let Amir go and retrieved a black scarf from his closet. “I’ll have to get it ground into a powder immediately. Then we can use it to make something new.”

“That works?” Amir asked. 

Rupert nodded. “Like a charm. You’ll need to turn three times counter clockwise and throw some salt over your shoulder too just to be sure.”

“Aren’t those all superstitions?” Amir asked dubiously. 

Rupert sighed. “Do you want to take that chance in a place where a forest curse and a magical queen once lived?”

“Good point. Let’s grind it.”

Following Amir into his room, Rupert saw the poor piece of furniture. He took the scarf and laid it over the mirror to prevent their reflections. Turning his attention to the drawer, Rupert saw it was stuffed full of letters. Very familiar letters. 

Very familiar unopened letters. 

“Amir, why...” Taking hold of the lot of them, he flipped though and saw his seal on each one unbroken. Standing up and turning around, he saw exactly one opened letter on Amir’s bed. “You haven’t been reading these?”

Amir picked up the one on the bed. “I ... I read the little notes. But I save the letters for a bad day. Well, actually I just re-read this one. And I read it every day.”

“Amir, did you just say that every day is a bad day?” Rupert asked, setting his handful of letters on the dresser. 

Amir scratched his head fussily. “No! Not all bad. But I just. I don’t know what to say. How to explain it. Every day has its ups and downs you know. And I read this letter when I’m feeling a little down.

Rupert closed the distance between them, taking hold of the Amir’s hands. “Amir, maybe if you read all the letters you wouldn’t feel down so often? I read yours every day and I only have to go back and re-read yours when my day is really bad!”

“Like today?” Amir asked. 

“Today wasn’t that bad,” Rupert deflected, turning to look away and letting go of Amir’s hand. 

“Don’t lie.” Amir ordered, taking his hand and turning his face back to look into his eyes. “You just said you re-read them when the day is really bad. That one on your floor was from last week.”

“Okay, today was bad for me too,” Rupert admitted. He leaned in and Amir met him for a kiss. 

When they separated, Amir asked. “Was it Karen?”

“No, I haven’t even seen her today. It’s.” Rupert gesticulated vaguely for a second before gathering his thoughts. “It’s everybody. Everybody asking about you. Where you are, why you’re not by my side all the time or better yet, there instead of me. From my mom asking about you at tea time to the chef asking what you would like to eat. Nobody wants my opinion. I just give it to them and they either play like they’re listening or ignore me. Someone actually said, ‘I can wait until Prince Amir hears this.’”

“Rupert, I’m sorry,” Amir reaches out for him again and Rupert grabbed the letters back from the dresser before returning. Sitting on Amir’s bed, he patted beside him and Amir joined him. 

“It’s not your fault. You’re seeing it too though, so I’m not crazy.” Rupert broke his seal on the first letter of the pile. “But you are crazy. Here, I’m going to read each one to you until you’re so full of my love that you burst!”

“Oh Rupert that letter was so sweet.”

“Read that last one again. Please! Okay just the last two lines then you can read the next one.”

“Oh Rupert, I didn’t know you wrote things like that! Yeah we’re gonna need to take a little break until I cool down a little.”

“Yes you can help me cool down.”

Now those were words he’d much rather hear, Rupert decided.


End file.
